Knicks guard RJ Barrett shoots a free throw against the...

Knicks guard RJ Barrett shoots a free throw against the New Orleans Pelicans in the second half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

RJ Barrett has seen plenty of hard times as one of the longest-tenured members of the Knicks, so it was with some curiosity that he watched as the 1973 Knicks championship team was honored Saturday at Garden.

“Man, it was great just to see them here and just even see all the videos up on the Jumbotron and stuff,” Barrett said. “Just the energy that was in there tonight was amazing. They’re legends. It’s very inspirational, especially the way they were able to win a championship, bring a championship back to New York. That’s something that we’re trying to do, so it was great to have them in the building.”

But it wasn’t just seeing the highlights flash on the screen or the championship trophy — the most recent one in franchise history — rolled out to center court. There were lessons of the way that team played that were not lost on Barrett.

While his production has been steady throughout his career, there is a sometimes frustrating part of his game. He has a tendency to bully his way to the rim and often seems to have blinders on despite the constant prodding from coach Tom Thibodeau to all of the playmakers to read the game and spray the ball out if the defense converges.

Since returning from the All-Star break, Barrett seems to have taken the lessons to heart. The numbers aren’t going to put him among the NBA’s top playmakers, but he went from three assists against Washington in the first game to a season-high seven assists Saturday as the Knicks won their fifth straight game, beating New Orleans, 128-106.

“I think I just started out aggressive,” said Barrett (25 points, 8-for-13 shooting). “Started out aggressive and just made the right plays, and honestly, guys made shots, so it was just a combination of everything. We clicked really well as a team today.”

“He was great,” Julius Randle said. “How he was reading the floor, getting guys open looks early with how they were playing, keeping his feet when he got in the lane. So he was good.”

“Terrific,” Thibodeau added. “The playmaking was terrific, all-around play. Just read the game really well. Aggressive to start, good rhythm, and then when there was traffic around him, he sprayed it out and created easy shots for us      And when we get our team doing that, we’re going to score a lot of points. But I thought his all-around game was great, attacking the rim, great, shooting the three, great. Just played an all-around really strong game.”

Barrett has been inconsistent this season, and throughout his career the Knicks’ reliance on him has meant he would play through any struggles. But with Quentin Grimes now the team’s best perimeter defender and Immanuel Quickley and Josh Hart playing key roles on both ends, Thibodeau has turned to keeping whoever has the team rolling on the floor — and that has meant no guarantees for Barrett.

In the first 34 games before suffering a finger injury that shut him down, he averaged 35.0 minutes per game. Upon his return, the number bumped up to 36.4 minutes until Hart arrived. And in the five games since Hart joined the team, Barrett is averaging 29.4 minutes.

But there have been no complaints — and maybe that lesson comes from Thibodeau’s constant insistence about sacrificing, with some players losing minutes, some coming off the bench and others not playing at all. Maybe it was reinforced Saturday night when Barrett saw Walt Frazier describing the unselfish 1973 team that featured six Hall of Famers.

“It’s a team, you know, so on any given night, it’s going to be different,” he said. “But I think especially today in particular, we did a great job just sharing the ball. Everybody kind of had a great game, so that was really good.”

Notes & quotes: The Knicks (35-27) moved into a virtual tie for fifth place Sunday when the Nets (34-26) lost to Atlanta.

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